A place for
you to learn more about Information and Knowledge Management Systems.
This is my information and knowledge of these systems that I freely offer to you.

"'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don't much care where--' said Alice. 'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. '--so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation. 'Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, 'if you only walk long enough.' (Chapter VI: Pig and Pepper)

... The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. 'Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?' he asked. 'Begin at the beginning,' the King said gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'" (Chapter XII)

The material here is my way of pointing you in the right direction in
order to make sense of, and understand, this new and exciting digital
world that we are all having to deal with today - without pop-ups,
spyware, etc. to be distracted with. To this purpose here, I hope to be what you need - for ultimately, that is my reward - knowing that I have helped others with this.

then
manipulating, presenting, recording, distributing, communicating,
organizing, locating, protecting and preserving these documents in a systematic way for implementing each of these processes in the life of a document generated electronically with a plan in mind for doing just that.

Well, I'm a
visual person - what does the entire process look like graphically?

A visual
representation http://www.larryblakeley.com/information_management_visual.htm of the Information and Knowledge Management System.

A synopsis of a complete web-based system for capturing, creating, sharing, and managing documents and information can be found at this Web page http://www.larryblakeley.com/products/products_overview.htm

What type of activity am I generating from the information posted to these Web sites?

And, for folks that are intrigued by numbers - me, included, I will post 30-day "hit" totals here http://www.larryblakeley.com/zeus_web_server/web_traffic.htm

Why
do I need to know about this, anyway?

You don't if
any of the following apply:

you are not responsible for managing digital documents;

you are not concerned with needing to backup, store, or preserve documents after creating them digitally (in other words - protect them); or

you use a typewriter for your daily letters, interoffice memos, and other correspondence and for your legal documents - you use a lithograph machine, make your copies, store in-house documents in a file cabinet, and use the U.S. Postal Service ("snail mail") for your written communication to the "outside world". Some of you know what I'm talking about. Even though I'm not "that" old, the first oil and gas exploration company that I worked for right out of The University of Texas at Austin (1977), McAlester Fuel Company, Magnolia, Arkansas was doing just that. In those days you had to go to a " 'typesetter' for high print quality". When I worked as a petroleum landman (January 1978 - April 1980) for W. B. (Buz) Sawyer (on the right in this photograph - Brownie Johnson on the lefthttp://www.royblakeley.name/larry_blakeley/articles/monthly_articles/buz_sawyer_brownie_johnson197912.jpg), McAlester Fuel Company, Magnolia, Arkansas, they had their own typesetter to print oil and gas exploration agreements. They also had a telephone switchboard with the plug-ins and an elevator operator. But, of course none of the men had to do all this.)

Well, I am
responsible for managing digital documents, but all this looks too complicated for me. Can I learn this? And, how do I learn what to do?

You are as capable as anyone else to learn the basics of these processes. And, I will help you along with that with the way this website is designed. And, for further learning and resources visit some of the knowledge experts'
websites. http://www.larryblakeley.com/experts.htm

Here is an image copy of my "top-level" folders for this Web site http://www.larryblakeley.com/folders_larry_blakeley_com20050325.png

Daily Logs of changes and additions to this website (not article changes or additions here) http://www.larryblakeley.com/daily_logs/

If you do not understand how to get to this area then go back up to "creating digital documents" and learn what's there for you.

Is it going to cost me any money to
look around?

No, because
this website is intended for educational purposes only.

Why are you
doing this?

It's my way of
sharing knowledge and information with others that are interested in
this sort of thing. I have worked with many people (and, know some - even in my family) that really need some guidance and help with this transition to the digital (or electronic) world. And, here are some other reasons that I worked up one day.
http://www.larryblakeley.com/purposes_website.htm

What else is
in this website that may encourage me to return?

My recent
Articles of Interest here http://www.larryblakeley.com/Articles/monthly_articles/recent_articles_of_interest.htm will be articles and newsfeeds that I find interesting and that I believe others may also. On long articles and reports I read them and try to get them down to 4,000 - 5,000 words for those that just want the main points - along with the full article for others. I will try to keep 10, or so of the recent article abstracts, then move them to a section I call the rest of the Articles and News Feeds. http://www.larryblakeley.com/articles_of_interest.htm

What's the purpose of feeding articles through this website?

It gives me a chance to provide you with the newest information (and some that's older, but still valid) about these processes. I can sort through the marketing hype and post just the information that I believe to be truthful and worth reading.

Besides, many end up spending way too much money on software that just does not do what you thought it was going to do for you. And, sadly - many times these perceptions of yours where influenced by someone that may have had ulterior motives http://www.larryblakeley.com/library_research_commercial/commercial_publishers_elibraries/20_front.jpg, or somewher up near the peak of the pyramid of knowledge http://www.larryblakeley.com/purposes_website.htm.

It's easy to find software and hardware to do things for you when you've got plenty of money to spend. It's another matter to find good, cheap, high-quality products that integrate well together. Now, that's what I focus on - and, that goal/objective takes time - lots of it. You see, none of these processes is an "island" in the digital world - in other words, you can't just create documents and sit back like it was a piece of paper that will last longer than you will live.

Why do you include the URL's ("universal resource locator") when you already have the hyperlink for me to click on?

I did not begin my websites doing this, but decided to go to that as an after thought. There are several reasons - the hyperlinks are stripped out when I copy the text content to a text editor, but when I type in the URL, it remains; sometimes the hyperlinks don't work right, so you can just highlight the URL, copy to your clipboard, and place it in the address section of your web browser to view that document. And, there's some other reasons that seemed to me to be advantageous - at least for now.

What operating system are you using on
your server? And, why?

Because I don't like monopolies. Microsoft is a monopoly. What do you have against monopolies? Personally, for me - I value having the democratic option of "freedom of choice". Well, this is commerce, not politics? I know. But, Linux is a great operating system for the functions I am currently using it for: serving you these Web pages, sending and receiving my email, and storing my digital files.

Right now - from what I can tell, it's working just fine for email, text document creation, and web surfing.

What is out there that you really like?

I like web services - in other words providing all of these processes that you need to learn, as well as the hardware required - on a subscription basis. You're desktop will be just a keyboard for certain applications. For further information please read "The Other Road Ahead", summary version here http://www.larryblakeley.com/Articles/internet_future/paul_graham_summary200109.htm (3,591 word count); Full ASCII text version here - (use right click of your mouse, then select to save, pick your desktop to save it to, and then just go to the file and open it for viewing, or printing to read) http://www.larryblakeley.com/Articles/internet_future/paul_graham200109.txt (12,080 word count), Paul Graham, September 2001.

Why?

Because a lot of us just don't need to be worrying about all this - my mother, for instance.

Have you used a web service?

Yes, in fact I am using Intuit's Quickbooks Online Edition and so far - I really like it.

For the attorneys:

All trademarks and registered trademarks contained in this website are the property of their
respective owners. Besides, I'm poor - so leave me alone. I'm giving away the only thing I have of value to others.